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Adults and children of all ages are invited to join the fun as Penn State Shenango holds Earth Fest 2015 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, at the campus in downtown Sharon, Pennsylvania. The event, which offers free admission and is open to the public, will include live music and entertainment, educational presentations, children’s activities, a local artists’ market, Penn State Berkey Creamery Ice Cream, information from sustainability-minded local organizations and businesses, and a computer and cell phone recycling event. Food and coffee from Haitian Sensation and AVI will be available to purchase.

Darren Williams, professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and Jim Gavio, director of the Erie Planetarium at Penn State Behrend, will offer suggestions for astronomy beginners in “Getting Started in Astronomy,” the next Open House Night in Astronomy lecture on the campus.

Their presentation will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, in 21 Witkowski Building. It is free and open to the public.

A free public lecture titled "Engineering SuperMicrobes to Save Us" will take place at 11 a.m. Feb. 1, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. The speaker will be Howard M. Salis, assistant professor of biological engineering and chemical engineering at Penn State.

It has been one of Homo sapiens' most ancient activities: sitting around a fire and gazing with wonder at the stars spread across the dark night sky. These days, if you've had this awe-inspiring experience, you're one of the lucky ones, says Christopher Palma, senior lecturer in Penn State's astronomy & astrophysics department. "Did you know that from many locations in the United States you can't see the whole Little Dipper anymore?" he asks.

Although we crust-dwellers walk on nice cool ground, underneath our feet the Earth is a pretty hot place. Enough heat emanates from the planet's interior to make 200 cups of piping hot coffee per hour for each of Earth's 6.2 billion inhabitants, says Chris Marone, Penn State professor of geosciences. At the very center, it is believed temperatures exceed 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the surface of the sun.